Hong Kong jury convicts one defendant and acquits six in groundbreaking UN anti-terrorism trial

HONG KONG, Aug 29 (Reuters) – A jury in Hong Kong on Thursday found one defendant guilty and acquitted six others of plotting to detonate explosives and use firearms against police officers during protests in the city in 2019, a landmark case that was decided under the United Nations' Counter-Terrorism Ordinance.

Lai Chun-pong, 30, was the only one found guilty, while the jury found the other six members of the group, Lee Ka-tin, 25, Cheung Chun-fu, 24, Cheung Ming-yu, 21, Yim Man-him, 22, Justin Hui Cham-wing, 25, and Lau Pui-ying, 24, not guilty.

Prosecutors claimed they were members of a group known as the “Dragon Slayers.”

The trial marked the first time that the UN anti-terrorism law came into force in Hong Kong.

High Court Judge Judianna Barnes told the nine-member jury that she had to determine whether each of the defendants had intended to kill police officers. The defendants were accused five years ago of planning bomb attacks on key targets and the killing of police officers.

Hong Kong, which fell from British rule to Chinese rule in 1997, experienced a wave of often violent protests against the government in 2019 over an extradition bill that has since been shelved.

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